Today’s NewsStand – February 5, 2019

Published on Tuesday, February 5th, 2019

Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and the Web.

Iowa News

Science Center of Iowa debuts mental health exhibitThe Science Center of Iowa and dozens of community partners are coming together to try and end the stigma associated with mental illness. The “Mental Health: Mind Matters” exhibit opens Tuesday. It uses interactive and immersive multimedia to explore the prevalence of mental health in society. Visitors can experience what some of the symptoms are like and learn how to effectively communicate with those struggling with mental illness. (WHO)

County to hold public forums on public health
An in-depth discussion is about to take place about the fate and current state of the Public Health Department of Winnebago County. It will be a part of a series of public meetings that will be held by the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors. For Winnebago County with no hospital to fall back on and various clinics throughout the county, they are faced to have to manage $1.36 million budget for a public health department that continues to fight the HMO’s, Medicare, and Medicaid in billing. (KIOW)

Prices revealed for northwest Iowa hospitalsWondering about the cost of hospital visit before the bill arrives in the mail? As of January 1, a federal law requires all U.S. hospital to post the standard charges for all services they provide online. The 2019 Inpatient and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System requirement set forth by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services focuses on providing better services to patients through price transparency. The purpose of requiring hospitals to make prices available is so patients can compare and decide which facility to go to. (Northwest Iowa.com)

National News

In Utah and Idaho, GOP looks to curb Medicaid expansion that voters approved
The voters of Utah and Idaho, two deeply Republican states, defied the will of their political leaders in November and voted to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Now those leaders are striking back, moving to roll back the expansions — with encouragement, they say, from the Trump administration. But in both states, the Republican Legislatures are looking for ways to roll back those votes. (New York Times)

Trump is planning campaign to halt transmission of HIV in US by 2030President Trump plans to announce a campaign to halt transmission of HIV in the United States by 2030 in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, a goal someexperts say is within reach, according to people inside and outside the administration. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department is expected to roll out the plan within days of Trump’s address, the people said. Greg Millett, director of public policy for the American Foundation for AIDS Research, said the initial plan may focus on wiping out HIV transmission in 46 U.S. counties responsible for about half of all new HIV cases in the United States, based on information he has seen. (Washington Post)

Ideas to curb surprise medical bills percolate with rare bipartisan push
Surrounded by patients who told horror stories of being stuck with hefty bills, President Donald Trump recently waded into a widespread health care problem for which almost everyone — even those with insurance — is at risk: surprise medical billing. Trump’s declaration that taming unexpected bills would be a top priority for his administration echoed through the halls of Congress, where a handful of Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been studying the problem the past couple of years. (Kaiser Health News)